Is it time to tell the Wallcovering Environmental Story? The very act of communicating the story needs to be determined. We have been hearing from speakers at annual meetings how information needs to be communicated to a different generation. So just telling a story in print may not be enough. Other mediums may be more effective for some audiences. Another difficulty is that the information we will discuss contains science terms. This is not easy for many people to wrap their arms around. However, the details are important and some scientific discussion is imperative to the story, so how do we keep an audience engaged as we plow through details? What makes this even more complicated is that science was used to justify past practices. So what makes our science better now than before? There are clear answers to this but we need to be prepared for questions that will be asked.

Why are environmental components of an industry taking such a lead role in making wallcoverings? In the days of “business as usual,” the goal was to make a good product, sell it, make some more, repeat. Then global concerns began to grow around the impacts of chemicals on people and the environment. In the earlier days, chemistry was respected and perhaps unintended consequences were not predictable. Plastics were seen as solutions to manufacturing processes offering higher quality and longevity. They were also competitively economical to use. Their use grew to the point that we now see plastic applications everywhere. Vinyl wallcovering has a significant plastic component.

Prop 65 is a complicated topic, and one that concerns many in the wallcoverings industry. Linked above is a summary of the proposition, along with answers to common questions. Below are resources that can help you navigate the proposition:

For almost two years, the Wallcovering Association’s Technical Committee has been responding to inquiries regarding specifications for Non-Vinyl Wallcovering Products. Learn about the implications here, as related to the W-101 specification.